History of the Book in Hispanic America, 16th-19th Centuries

Description: This course will present a comprehensive introduction to the history of the book in Hispanic America from the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. The focus will be on colonial period imprints, ca. 1539 through ca. 1830, produced throughout the region. Topics will include the introduction and dissemination of the printing press; the elements of book production (paper, ink, type, illustrations, bindings); printers and publishers; authors and illustrators; audiences and market; monopolies; and censors, collectors, and libraries. Additional selected subjects to be discussed include the art of the Spanish American book (including 19th-century lithography), modern private and institutional collectors, and reference sources. The course will include first-hand examination of materials in class and field trips to UCLA Special Collections, the Huntington Library, and the Getty Research Institute to view additional rare Hispanic American resources. Intended for special collections librarians, area studies bibliographers, institutional and private collectors, members of the trade, and scholars with an interest in the region, knowledge of Spanish is not necessary.

Course readings:

Calvo, Hortensia. “The Politics of Print: The Historiography of the Book in Early Spanish America.” In: Book History Vol.6 (2003), 277-305.

Johnson, Julie Greer. The Book in the Americas: The Role of Books and Printing in the Development of Culture and Society in Colonial Latin America. Providence: John Carter Brown Library, 1988.